All Your Old-School Keys in One Stage-Ready Board

Stocked with a well-curated collection of 36 tweakable pianos, electric pianos, clavs, and organs, plus a selection of vintage amp models and reverbs, Korg's distinctive SV-1 Stage Vintage Piano has everything you need on stage -- and no nerdy LCD touch-screen in sight. For the stage pianist who'd rather play a musical instrument than a computer, this 73-key version of the Korg SV-1 delivers a simple control panel of hefty, grabbable knobs and chunky buttons. From the smooth curves of the case, to the real vacuum tube circuit, to the comfortable, fully-weighted RH3 keybed, this beautiful instrument just begs to be played. Stop scrolling through endless menus of sounds you'll never use and get those must-have pianos, Rhodes, and Wurli patches in one great-feeling instrument: the Korg SV-1.

Vintage Look and Feel

"SV" stands for "Stage Vintage," and the Korg SV-1's vintage-instrument vibe is apparent before you even hear it. The curved case is clearly built to stand up to the rigors of live performance (and turn a few heads in the process). Flip the substantial power toggle and watch as amber lights blink to life on the beveled control panel. Turn chunky, clicking knobs to select and tweak your sound, or punch eight fat buttons to access your favorites. The controls are a breeze to operate, with nearly every function accessible via a dedicated knob -- ideal for live performance. The keyboard itself utilizes Korg's fully-weighted RH3 graded hammer-action keybed (just like the one found on the Korg M-50), and you can adjust its sensitivity to one of eight curves by clicking the dedicated Touch button. Touch-sensitivity is memorized when you save a favorite sound. There's an included damper pedal, and a full three pedal inputs mean you can also hook up sostenuto and soft pedals of a real piano. It's clear that Korg has taken every care to approximate the real deal in the SV-1.

Vintage Instrument Sounds

The SV-1 may not be a time machine, but it's the next best thing for a keyboardist looking to transport their audience back to the classic sounds of the '60s, '70s, and '80s. You'll find loads of Rhodes and Wurlitzers, plenty more electric/electro-mechanical pianos, detailed acoustic pianos (including an impressive upright), indispensable pop piano/pad layers, Hohner Clavinets, and Hammond, Lowrey and Farfisa organs. Click the dial over to "Other" to find tasty novelties like Mellotron-esque violins, a 70s disco "Solina String Ensemble" homage, the obligatory synth choir, and even a couple of iconic 80s pop polysynths. On the acoustic pianos and electro-mechanical instruments, Korg's RX (Real eXperience) Technology sound generator goes beyond multisampling to include subtle imperfections that accompany the notes: the thunk of a damper pedal, clicking keys, snapping tines. You can adjust these RX effects independently, depending on just how "vintage" you want your instrument to sound. Easily switch between a pristine $60,000 concert grand to a trashed-out, ill-behaved suitcase piano that you picked up at a yard sale.

Vintage Effects and Amps

Vintage electric piano sounds go hand-in-hand with period-accurate effects and amps. But typical amp simulations don't include a power amp circuit -- and the sound of a real tube amplifier depends on the varying impedance created by a power amp driving a speaker. So Korg built the SV-1's Valve Reactor as an actual low-wattage power amp circuit, complete with the real 12AX7 vacuum tube built into the front panel. Sonically, this translates into the unmistakable warmth and growl of a tube amp through your choice of speaker cabinets. Like the effect chain in a classic instrument amplifier, the SV-1 has a three-band equalizer section; stompbox "pre" effects simulator with compressor, booster, univibe, vibrato, tremolo, and Vox wah; and post-amp modulation section with chorus, phaser, flanger, and rotary speaker effects. There are also six types of reverb and delay, plus two limiters to keep your levels under control. And you can bypass any or all of these stages, to shape your tone to your liking.

Dig In Deep with Free Editor Software

There's more to the SV-1 than meets the eye. Connect your SV-1's USB port to your Mac or PC to back up and edit all your sounds and effects with Korg's SV-1 Editor/Librarian software. Graphic-based and painless to use, this free software extends the SV-1 experience to your computer to make digging into sounds and effects fun and rewarding. Access parameters beyond what you'll find on the SV-1's front panel to develop your own signature sounds. If you need more than eight spots to save your favorite sounds, you can now override any of the 36 presets with sounds of your creation, or load new sound banks that Korg releases through their website.

Think about it: how many sounds do you really want to drag with you on a gig? If acoustic and electric pianos are where it's at for your live rig, treat yourself to the Korg SV-1 and simplify your setup while upgrading your sound.

Product Description

Stage. Vintage. Piano. The name pretty much says it all. The SV-1 contains the hippest, most in-demand and soul-satisfying keyboard sounds ever collected in a single instrument. Decades of electro-mechanical, transistorized, tape-driven, analog, and digital legends are joined by a collection of rich acoustic pianos, all reproduced with stunning realism. But the SV-1 is about much more than excellent sound; the SV-1 re-creates the look, the feel, and visceral pleasure of performing on a vintage instrument.

Designed with performance in mind, the SV-1 is a pleasure to play. Once you try it, you'll understand what all the excitement is about. The RH3 Real Weighted Hammer Action is the finest keybed Korg offers, with a solid, responsive feel that inspires confidence. Forget menus. Never mind banks and programs. Stop staring at displays. With the SV-1, the entire front panel is always live, using clearly labeled knobs to dial up just the sound you are looking for. Saving your eight Favorite settings for quick recall is as easy as saving a station on your car radio.

Best of all, the Korg SV-1 provides an economical, reliable, portable, and maintenance-free alternative to collecting and maintaining a stable of vintage instruments. The cabinet styling (and optional chrome stand) clearly defines the SV-1 as an instrument that was made to be played; providing a retro-chic appearance that reflects the pulse and heart of the original instruments.

Are You eXperienced?

The SV-1 sounds feature Korg's Real eXperience technology, giving unprecedented realism and detail to sounds. While existing sampling techniques have resembled an audio snapshot, their technology is more of a hologram, accurately reproducing every dimensional detail of the sound. Grand piano, electric piano and clavi's are all sampled with the hammer and natural release sound, to preserve the natural imaging of the sound. Different dynamic levels are captured to
extend the instrument's expressive vocabulary.

Take for example the grand piano. The SV-1 uses the sound of the key being released and the hammer returning, as well as the damper resonance of the strings to create all of the subtle shadings that create a superior instrument sound. This attention to detail defines the sound of the SV-1, providing an instrument that can interpret every nuance of touch into a meaningful musical gesture. This technique applies to all other sounds as well. For example, electric pianos, clavi's and organs are for the first time reproduced in complete realism, and do not sound synthetic and deprived of any life-like quality. These sounds react under your fingers exactly as the real instrument, and results in a more impressive performance when playing on stage.

The Power (Amp) and The Glory

The Valve Reactor circuitry in the SV-1 has been tuned-up especially for live performance. Since conventional modeling effects for line recording are not used directly with a speaker, they do not include a power amp circuit, output transformer, or speaker. In other words, they only have a preamp circuit. A real valve amp sound, however, is produced not just by the preamp, but also by the tone and distortion of the power amp, and by the constant changes in impedance that are created by the power amp driving the speakers. The SV-1 contains an actual low-wattage valve power amp circuit, a virtual output transformer that uses solid-state components to simulate an output transformer, and a dummy speaker circuit that simulates the varying impedance of a real speaker. This means that although it's low-power, the SV-1 has the same circuit structure
of an actual all-valve amp. This is great when playing live, because the sound arriving to the main mixer is the same of a real analogue amp captured by high-quality mics.

Sought-after Sounds

You know the 36 sounds in the SV-1 by heart; each one is an old friend. Rediscover hit-making vintage electric pianos, funky clavs, classic and cult-fave organs, string machines and, of course, pianos. The SV-1 serves up breathtaking grands, a real-deal upright, plus hall-of-fame electronic contenders. And the SV-1 doesn't just serve plain vanilla; you'll find multiple, signature variations of many classic instruments to inspire your performance.

Each category of instrument starts with the essential classics and then moves beyond what other products offer, going into some rare and unique instruments that were the part of the soundtrack of their eras. So the electric pianos start with several seven-way, velocity switched "tine" versions, continue through the classic "reed" based model and then into a vintage analog "electra" instrument (all from American manufacturers), as well as two different Japanese mid-80's digital classics.

The acoustic pianos include three-way stereo versions of both German and Japanese grand piano giants, a more intimate upright piano, a much-needed mono piano for small gigs, a late '70s-mid 80's Japanese electro-acoustic variation, Korg's signature and rocking SG-1D, plus some blended sounds. Organs include three variations of the classic tonewheel model, plus the most famous British and Italian combo organs, along with the first known offering of a signature American tube-driven console organ.

Clavs include four variations of the tonal settings plus a related keyboard from the same manufacturer that used a plucked-reed mechanism for a unique and intimate sound. Add in real, tape-based, and analog strings; choir; and a couple of fat analog synth sounds and you have an incredibly versatile palette of sounds to perform with. Each of the core keyboards has been accurately sampled including tine, key-off, damper and hammer noises at different velocities. Tonewheel organs include the much-needed leakage and adjustable key-click. They even sampled piano cabinet resonances to enhance the accuracy of their acoustic pianos. By isolating these sonic components, the RX engine allows you to create a sonic signature from showroom-shiny to road-ravaged; adding just the right amount to suit your individual taste. This attention to detail, called the RX Experience, is what makes playing the SV-1 a joy. It comes to life under your hands, with a three-dimensional sound evoking the electro-mechanical legends, reborn.

Period-accurate Amps and Effects

The superb sound generation of the SV-1 is further enhanced with the inclusion of six separate stages of signal processing, all bypass-able.

Equalizer (bass, middle and treble)
Controllable from the front panel, the EQ allows you to shape the tonal quality of your sound in real-time.

Amp Model (Amp Modeling, cabinet simulation and noise reduction)
A wealth of amp heads and speaker cabinets are available to add color, drive and edge to your sound. Plus, Korg's exclusive Valve Reactor circuitry adds the warmth or snarl that only a real 12AX7 tube can provide.

Modulation FX (Chorus 1 &2, Phaser 1&2, Flanger and Rotary)
Some of the most famous stomp-box pedals have been recreated to give you the signature sounds for these legendary timbres. Korg's rotary speaker emulation has long been acclaimed as one of the best, faithfully adding nuance and motion to any organ sound.

Reverb/Delay (Room, Plate, Hall, Spring, Tape Echo and Stereo Delay)
Four types of reverb are provided, along with a classic tape-echo, plus a tempo-based digital delay - complete with a tap tempo switch.

Limiter
This final step in the chain ensures your level remains balanced across all sounds, and is adjustable only via the included computer editor/librarian software.

Zero Learning Curve

The user interface has been designed with performance in mind; every essential control is quickly accessible on the front panel, with no confusing menus or multiple button presses. Rotary knobs include illuminated LED's to show the position of the knob, and can be pressed to restore the original setting. For really quick changes, the SV-1 has eight car-radio style buttons to instantly call up your eight Favorite sounds and settings. Storing a Favorite is equally as easy. Simply adjust the controls to your preferred settings, then press and hold one of the Favorites buttons; when the button flashes, press it again. Your custom setting is now stored.

Touch and Tune

The SV-1 is equipped with Korg's finest graded-hammer action (RH3) 73-key keyboard. The Function button provides access to eight different velocity curves that allow the keyboard to response to match any performance style. Authentic to the end, the SV-1 offers eight tuning schemes including equal, grand piano stretch, electric piano stretch, electric grand, upright stretch, detuned and two user-definable types (configurable using the editor/librarian software). Overall tuning can also be accessed via the Function button, and adjusted by using the EQ treble control. While in this mode, concert pitch (A=440) can be recalled quickly by pressing the treble encoder pot. Needless to say, the SV-1 can be transposed into any key.

Accessorize Your Winning Look

Housed in a bold, curvaceous body, the SV-1 really stands out from the crowd. Coupled with retro-style controls and a stunning metallic red with charcoal ends, the SV-1 oozes desirability - and playability! An optional adjustable and collapsible chrome stand is available, as is a gig-ready rolling soft case.

Connect with Others

A pro keyboard would be incomplete without all the right connections. The SV-1 is equipped with balanced XLR and outputs; Left and Right audio inputs; MIDI In and MIDI out jacks, USB MIDI Port, and 3 pedal connections: Damper, Pedal 1, and Pedal 2. The Damper pedal is included, and responds to half-pedaling for authentic piano response. Pedal 1 is designed for a switch type of pedal, and can operate as a piano Sostenuto pedal, or as a Fast/Slow switch when the Rotary Speaker effect is on. Pedal 2 can accept either a sweep-type pedal - great for authentic Wah effects and accurate organ volume control - or an additional switch pedal, providing the piano purist with access to all three piano pedal functions by adding the Una Corda (soft) function.

Vintage Software

While setting out to create an incredibly friendly and easy-to-use instrument, they knew that there were more tech-savvy players out there that would love nothing more than to dig in a little deeper. The SV-1 Editor/Librarian software provides cool graphic-based programming, including access to many effect parameters not available on the SV-1's panel.

SV-1 Main Panel

In addition, the Editor/Librarian software allows each of the 36 sounds and the eight Favorites to be programmed and saved individually. This points the way to users sharing and swapping their favorite settings, and for Korg to supply more sounds in the future. The SV-1 Editor/Librarian runs on Mac or PC, and is included free with every SV-1. MIDI Local can be set on or off from the front panel, allowing the SV-1 to function effectively as a 73-key controller keyboard in any software set-up.

Sound:
A few sounds, but a few realy good ones
Feature:
All you need at once-.
Ease of Use:
Modify live amps, chorus, etc. I owned several workstations using only 30% of it capabilitys and how many hours spending reading manuals and blogs to get wuere you want...and did I mencioned how tedious to modify a sound is.....but this is not the case. No learning manuals or little windows needed. In fact, there is no screen at all. All you want it, do it at once. Guys let's be real I just want'a play...I'm not a computer programing nerd. Just hear, I like, I use it. That's it.-
Quality:
Very well made, the best keyboard feel (just the same as in Kronos) there is no one with better sensation. Simple. Very good sounds specially on pianos an rhodes. Great mechanism effect.
Value:
Worth the money!!
Manufacturer Support:
No yet.-
The Wow Factor:
Design Design Design...have you see it...vintage looking..it rockssss
Overall:
Look for clavia for better organ sounds... or a less weight equipment..'cause this is heavy. I definitely will buy it again and maybe even the 88 version. What a pitty that one is brown and not red.

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"Exactly what I needed"

Overall:
I could not really get into those that just sound like playing the pre-recorded sampling when playing the keys. I really didn't need hundreds of sounds I am not likely to use and I also didn't want to be looking at a cheesy digital screen and buttons, etc. Type of music I tend to play just needs good vintage sounds that are more realistic. I just wanted something that is simple to use and most importantly sounds great without costing an arm and a leg. After using the SV for a couple of month now, after several gigs, I am so happy with my choice. The way this keyboard is very 'analog' which actually gives you limitless possibility as fas as adjusting sounds and tones. I found myself really connected to this instrument unlike any other keyboard in this price range, even compared to some of them that are more expansive than this. I chose 73 keys because often I play at a smaller venue. I was hesitant at first because I am fairly small and this is quite heavy. But the sound...make it worth it. So I have no regret.

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